


maybe we're more than we've been told

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: hold my hand (i can hear the ghost calling) [21]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adoption, Bisexual Male Character, Family Feels, Fatherhood, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Happy Ending, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Superfamily (Marvel), Tony Stark Defense Squad, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unconventional Families, and one spideyboi, but figuratively adopt peter, his soldier bird husband, like literally - Freeform, one chauffeur, sometimes a family is billionaire philanthropist with ptsd, the soldier uncle, their daughter with a suit of armor, tony and sam adopt riri, two ginger BAMF women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 23:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18648529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: This is the story of Tony Stark: Tony falls, and hegets back up.This is the story of a hero- not the glorious rise, but the recovery after the fall. It is the struggle to continue, to stand on aching, bleeding knees and to keep fighting no matter what. It is learning to fly when gravity keeps insisting on pulling you to the ground.Tony is more than just an inventor and a superhero. He's a mechanic. He fixes things. He repairs them after they fall apart.This is the story about the Defender of New York, the First Avenger, a husband and a father and a father figure whose proudest accomplishments are saving kids from abusive homes, building prostheses for those who have lost their limbs, and mentoring kids about science.This is a story about a man who kept falling and kept getting back up, a man who inspired others to keep getting back up as well.Tony is the mistakes he has made, and he is so much more than them. He is a story not made just of falls, but the flights that happen afterwards.





	maybe we're more than we've been told

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Shine" by Shane Koyczan.
> 
>  
> 
> So we're gonna continue to ignore canon and just let Tony and his family be happy, right? Right. Cool. Here's the next installment in the series!

Tony falls, but this is not the end of the story. It never could have been, because Tony is too fucking stubborn to let it be the end.

-

This is the story of Tony Stark: Tony falls, and he _gets back up._

This is the story of a hero- not the glorious rise, but the recovery after the fall. It is the struggle to continue, to stand on aching, bleeding knees and to keep fighting no matter what. It is learning to fly when gravity keeps insisting on pulling you to the ground.

Ever since Tony was a kid he learned that in order to survive, you had to get back up. You had to own your scars, had to let them tell your story but not define you. He learned that _I'm sorry_ sometimesonly works on people willing to listen, that some men can only be moved by fighting back, that some obstacles can't be avoided.

-

Tony is more than just an inventor and a superhero. He's a mechanic. He fixes things. He repairs them after they fall apart.

Once, in a cave in a desert, he and an old man put him back together again after he'd been tortured and had his heart ripped out. They create a new heart and a suit of armor to first escape and then to defend others from having what happened to Tony happen to them.

This was not the beginning of his story, but it was the inciting incident. The moment when _getting back up_ didn't just pertain to his father's fists- it meant accepting an entirely new life, a new set of priorities to put his stubbornness and drive and brain into. 

When he gets home, Tony starts a program for military prostheses and another one for creating wings for the same reason that he created Iron Man- he wants other people to be able to fly, to be able to get back up again just as he did. 

-

Tony gets married, and it is as much an act of revolution as crafting himself a heart was, as much as becoming Iron Man was. His father said he could never be happy as a queer man. His father said no one would ever love him. His father said-

It doesn't matter what dear ol' Dad said, not anymore, not when Tony has someone who loves him as much as he loves them. Not when he’s staring Sam right in the eyes, seeing Sam smile that fond smile at him.

Tony marries a soldier who knows what it feels like to have lives on your hands, to have your life blown up in a desert thousands of miles from anything you consider home. He marries a man who has fallen and gotten back up and learned to fly, just like he did.

(He marries a man who would never hurt him, who has known pain and would never inflict it on anyone he loves.)

He stands at the altar and kisses Sam and this is yet another revolution, a quiet and joyous one, one that he is willing to participate in every day for the rest of his life.

-

Tony drowned his sorrows in sex and alcohol for years. His path to getting back up was not a linear one, not an easy one- it had many bumps along the way, many literal falls and times when the only way to feel better is to drown in oblivion.

Stark-Wilson- his very name becomes a symbol of his getting back up. It becomes a symbol of what he can do, the love he can achieve, the promise that someone believes in him.

He doesn't drink much after he gets married. A cocktail every now and then, a shot once in awhile for social reasons, but never binging or more than one drink a night. 

He doesn't need to drink. He has already gotten back up- he doesn't need to drown again.

-

Riri Williams finds her way into Tony's lab on a field trip one day, and absolutely blows Tony away with her knowledge and her potential. She's only fourteen years old, but she's an absolute genius. She talks about organic ways to improve the armor and he offers her an internship immediately, and it's the first time in twenty minutes that she actually seems shocked.

And then he gets to know her better, over hours in the lab and occasional movie night, and Tony knows the look in her dark, bitter eyes. He knows that pain. He knows that flinch.

Because he _was_ that. He was the victim, the survivor, who carried self-doubt in his heart and covered it up with a facade of arrogance and boundless self-confidence.

And he knows he has to get her out of her foster home.

(Tony was Riri's hero before she even met him, but not because he was a superhero. Not because he was a billionaire.

He's Peter's role model because he's an unapologetically queer genius who made in STEM despite the stigma against his sexuality. He's Riri's because he overcame an abusive childhood and still became the success he is today.)

When he asks Riri if she'd like for him and Sam to adopt her, Tony is terrified. He doesn't think he could be a good father. He doesn't think he could be what she needs, despite Sam's faith in him.

But Riri accepts, tears in her eyes, and pulls them both into a grateful hug.

Tony signs the papers for Riri's adoption and he's never been prouder of anything in his life.

-

The story of Tony Stark has always been getting back up despite the fact that no one has seemed to love him, but the truth that’s so hard for Tony to see is that so many people do love him.

The story of Tony Stark is as much about the people he has touched as much as it is a story about one man's strength.

It is about James Rhodes, nicknamed by a teenaged freshman in his physics class at M.I.T with eyes too old for his round-cheeked face. It is about a student whose roommate stayed up too late and drank too much and slept too little but still set aside the time to help a friend through a difficult problem in theoretical physics. It is about hundreds of hours of Nintendo before nintendo was any good when it came to graphics, about the first generation of Mario and thousands of one-off Tetris championships.

It is about a soldier who entered the air force as an officer, who used his calls home to talk to his family and to Tony, who never had the perfect relationship with Tony but at the end of the day would always be willing to sacrifice everything for the man he considered brother. 

It is about Pepper Potts, bright-eyed and bright-haired, too clever for the PA position she was applying to but also knowing that she could hold onto the position like no one else had. It is about a woman who became CEO of a family-run company that was not her own (not legally, at least) family, a woman who dated Tony for a few weeks before realizing that they were far better off as friends and business partners. It is about a woman who always makes sure that Tony is taking care of himself, who checks in on a pretty regular basis to make sure that Tony is staying healthy and happy.

It is about Sam Wilson, a man who knew what it was to fall, a man with scars as large as Tony's, a soldier with a war that never left his blood no matter how far away he flew from that helicopter crash. It is about a man who understood Tony's PTSD more intimately than nearly anyone else, who held Tony through the worst of the nightmares and was held in return.

It is about a man who fell in love with Tony over bad diner food and endless night runs with the Falcon wings, who laughed at Tony’s worst jokes and kissed him senseless.

It is about Happy Hogan, a chauffeur whose daughter was doted upon by his employer, a man who was willing do to anything for Tony and was protected and supported in return.

It is about Natasha Romanoff, who doesn't care about many people and loves even fewer, but who developed a fondness for Tony Stark, the only person outside of her tiny family for which she ever does so.

It is about Peter Parker, who adored Tony and viewed him as the greatest hero to ever live but who also understood his flaws. It is about a boy who lost both his parents and then his Uncle, who was taken under Tony and Sam's wings both to learn to be a superhero but also to learn to be a person.

It is about a boy who developed a set of web-slingers after having been bitten by a spider, who wanted to use his smarts and his talents to be something more. It is about a boy who suddenly acquired two father figures who loved him as much as his Aunt did.

It is about Riri Stark-Wilson, a girl with the same flint eyes and brains as Tony, a girl who had been abused and hurt, a girl who built her own armored suit out of both curiosity and the need to defend herself and others. 

It is about a girl adopted by two men who loved her like no one else ever had, a girl who went from being an unwanted burden to being a beloved daughter. It is about movie nights with the whole team and blankets tucked in and nights with just her and her two new dads, where Sam would cook something glorious while Tony would tell stories leaving them all in stitches from laughter. It is about being hugged after a life of being deprived of physical affection, of proud smiles and science fair trophies

This is a story about Tony Stark-Wilson, a man who got back up and in turn inspired others to rise as well, a man who believed in others and so was believed in himself.

When Sam kisses him, when Pepper smiles at him, when Rhodey claps a hand on his shoulder, when Natasha or Happy shakes his hand, when Peter or Riri hugs him- Tony knows that he has accomplished something.

-

On the best days- the days that are becoming more and more commonplace nowadays, by some good side of the universe that has finally stopped punching Tony every time he’s down, Tony walks into the lab and he finds three of his favorite people in the world- his husband, his daughter, and his pseudo-son-figure- working.

Peter and Riri are excitedly discussing the tensile strength of a new web compound they've been testing, Sam is working on an adjustment to the wings, and music is playing in the background, some new album from that artist Riri and Peter both like, that Irish guy who is always singing about bogs and churches and death.

Tony doesn't know how much these three people appreciate him, how much they utterly adore and love him, and he has absolutely no clue that it has nothing to do with his money, or his social status, or his superhero abilities. It has to do with his passion for inventing, his patience for questions, his warm smile, his heart that is too big for his body-

-  
  
On June 15th, Tony wakes up to an envelope being handed to him from his husband.

"It's from the kids," Sam says with a fond smile, "They told me to deliver it to you."

The kids? That must mean Riri and Peter. Tony rips open the top of the envelope- as gently as possible, of course, but even after nearly fifty years of practice he still can't cleanly slice open an envelope with his thumb- to find a card inside.

 _HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!_ it reads in glittery gold print, and when he opens it with disbelieving fingers he finds two paragraphs on the inside, one from Riri and one from Peter, in their familiar prints. Riri's, in her impeccable cursive, is written in red ink, while Peter's, in his messy scrawl, is written in black.

Tony's heart is doing strange things in his chest as he reads the kids' thanks for what he's done for them, the things they've learned from him. Science and support, movie nights and lab time. 

"They gave me one too," Sam says, holding up a similiar card with red print on the inside and outside and similiar messages from Peter and Riri inside. Sam's talk more about learning how to cook and to spar when they get into the specifics, but the overall message is the same.

_Thank you for loving and taking care of and supporting us. Thank you for being what we needed._

There's a knock on the door to their room. "Sirs," comes JARVIS' voice, "Your daughter is knocking."

"Let her in," is Tony's immediate answer, and the door opens to allow Riri to pad into the room, clad in a tank top and flannel pj bottoms, her red hoodie slung over her shoulders. Her hair is still up in its sleep wrap. It really says something to Tony that she feels comfortable enough walking around the residential area of the tower so vulnerable and casual like this.

"Did you like it?" she asks, smile bright but hesitant (so unlike her usual smirk, bitter and daring people to go against her), and Tony and Sam both smile.

"Sweetheart, we loved it," Sam says, getting out of bed, and Riri's smile goes from hesitant to brilliant.

"Awesome!" she says, rushing forward to give him a hug. Tony follows Sam's example and gets out of bed as well, wrapping Riri in a hug from the other side.

Then, after a few moments, Riri pulls away slightly. She's officially been their daughter for four months now, but she's still not the best with hugs. Tony gets it- it took him years to get okay with Rhodey hugging him. 

"Peter's coming by in about an hour to celebrate too," Riri says, "Because you two are kind of his dads too."

"Does he really think so?" is the automatic response out of Tony's mouth before he thinks of the card sitting on the sheets beside him, with Peter's scrawling cursive lining it.

"Of course he does," Riri says with a smirk that mirrors Sam's when he knows he's right. "In fact, he was the one who wanted to let you two pick the movie for tonight."

Tony exchanges a look with Sam. "You mean we have to  _agree_?" he asks, a note of uncertainty to his voice, because while they have very similiar tastes in music and are both very open to new foods, they have very staunch opinions on the proper movie for movie night.

Riri smiles that evil smile Tony has a feeling she picked up from  _him_. "Yep," she says, innocently popping the "p" as if she's not aware of what she's just asked.

"Well, you heard the young lady," Sam says, "She wants us to spend the next two hours debating which movie to watch."

"No need to wait two hours, by which time Peter will have been waiting for ages," Tony says. "We can just watch  _The Phantom Menace._ "

"No damn way, Stark," Sam says, "There is no way we can watch the  _Phantom Menace_ with the children. The bad plotting and characterization will scar them for years."

"You just hate the fact that there's not enough action until the final few scenes and that the tone is so different from the orig trig," Tony says, "And because you're obviously going to be gunning to watch  _Clue_."

"It's a cult classic for a reason, Tones," Sam argues.

"I'll see you two in the kitchen in half an hour," Riri says, breezing out of the room with a knowing grin. "When you'll have, in all likelihood, decided on  _National Treasure_ for the movie."

Sam and Tony are left smiling at each other despite the fierce debate. "She's probably right, you know," Sam says, "We both like it, and so do the kids."

Tony nods. "She's smart like that, our girl," he says, smiling at the doorway that their daughter just vacated.

"But we should probably debate a little longer..." Sam offers, a teasing smile on his lips.

Tony steps forward so that he and Sam's faces are only a few inches away from each other. "Or we could just make out like teenagers and let her believe that we spent the time discussing."

Sam grins. "Sounds like a good suggestion, Mr. Stark-Wilson."

"Same to you, Mr. Stark-Wilson," Tony says before Sam leans in and pulls him the few inches closer and into a kiss.

They're laughing and giggling as they flop back onto the bed, kissing as they go.

-

This is the story about the Defender of New York, the First Avenger, a husband and a father and a father figure whose proudest accomplishments are saving kids from abusive homes, building prosthetics for those who have lost their limbs, and mentoring kids about science.

This is a story about a man who kept falling and kept getting back up, a man who inspired others to keep getting back up as well.

Tony is the mistakes he has made, and he is so much more than them. He is a story not made just of falls, but the flights that happen afterwards. 


End file.
